Directional grate access floor panel

ABSTRACT

A grate access floor panel comprising a support frame and a plurality of vanes supported by the frame, each of the plurality of vanes having an upstream end and a downstream end with respect to a direction of airflow across the plurality of vanes and faces that extend between the upstream and downstream ends, wherein at least some of the vanes have openings that extend through the faces thereof and have angled tips.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to grate panels for access flooring systems. Inparticular, this invention relates to access floor panels having gratesthat direct cooling air from the plenum between the sub-floor and theaccess panel array through the array.

2. Background of the Invention

A typical data center includes multiple IT racks. Those racks, and theassociated peripheral equipment and cables, generate a relatively highamount of heat. Because of that heat, providing adequate cooling to ITracks in the data center is of paramount importance. Moreover, it isdesirable that the IT racks be cooled as efficiently as possible, as theenergy costs to cool IT racks may approach a large percentage of theenergy costs to operate the data center.

Data centers typically have a raised floor system, often called anaccess floor system. An access floor system is usually comprised of acontinuous array of floor panels, arranged edge-to-edge, and supportedabove the sub-floor by support structure. The array of access floorpanels usually extends wall-to-wall in the data centers.

A plenum is formed between the sub-floor and the access floor panelarray. The cables and other equipment run through the plenum, and theplenum is also used as a conduit for cooling air. Often, one or more airconditioning units supply air to the plenum, and some of the accessfloor panels in the array have grates. The cooling air passes throughthe grates into the data center.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,747,872 discloses a typical cooling system for a datacenter. In the system of U.S. Pat. No. 6,747,872, cool air from an airconditioner passes through the plenum between the sub-floor and theaccess panel array to grates in the array. The cool air then passesthrough those grates to spaces adjacent to the IT racks. However, theperforated panels or grates disclosed in systems such as that in U.S.Pat. No. 6,747,872 merely provide the cool air in a vertical plumebetween the IT racks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, it is desirable to provide a directional gratepanel for access floor systems that directs cooling air from the plenumbetween the sub-floor and the access floor panel array directly andevenly to faces of IT racks in a data center, resulting in moreconsistent temperature throughout the height of the IT racks and moreeconomic cooling of the racks.

A directional grate according to one embodiment may comprise a pluralityof spaced vanes provided within a support frame, each of the pluralityof vanes having an upstream portion and a downstream portion withrespect to a direction of airflow across the plurality of vanes; and aplurality of openings provided in at least some of the plurality ofvanes. The downstream portion of at least some of the vanes of theplurality of vanes may be angled with respect to their upstreamportions.

In another embodiment, the plurality of openings may be circular inshape. Alternatively, the plurality of openings may be any othergeometric or non-geometric shape.

In a further embodiment, some of the vanes of the plurality of vanes mayhave at least a portion that is angled at a same angle of inclinationwith respect to a vertical axis. The angle of inclination may be between20° and 35°. In yet another embodiment, the plurality of vanes mayinclude two or more groups of vanes that have at least portions that areangled at first and second angles of inclination, respectively.

In yet another embodiment, all of the plurality of vanes may haveopenings that extend through the faces thereof. In one aspect, each ofthe vanes of the plurality of vanes may have a same pattern of openings.The support frame may have at least one peripheral member that hasopenings therethrough that align with the openings in at least some ofthe vanes. Additionally, the openings may be formed as a plurality ofpartial cutouts along one edge of the plurality of vanes. Further, theopenings may be equally spaced in each vane of the plurality of vanes.The openings also may be of equal size in each vane of the plurality ofvanes, and a same pattern of openings may be provided in some of thevanes of the plurality of vanes,

In another embodiment, the grate access floor panel may comprise asupport frame and a plurality of spaced vanes having front and rearfaces, wherein at least some of the plurality of spaced vanes may haveopenings through the faces thereof that permit airflow through theplurality of spaced vanes as well as between adjacent vanes of theplurality of spaced vanes. The airflow through the plurality of spacedvanes results in more even distribution of air through the grate accessfloor panel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a directional grate panel accordingto one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines 7-7 in FIG.3.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a vane taken along lines 8-8in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating the use of the directional grateof FIGS. 1-8 in a data center.

FIG. 10 is a partial cross sectional view of the vane of anotherembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of the vane of FIG. 10 takenalong lines 11-11 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a directional grate panel according to a further embodimentof this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the directional grate panel 50. Thedirectional grate panel 50 can be made of any material that is capableof providing the structural rigidity required for a given application.Preferably the directional grate panel 50 is made of a metal.

The directional grate panel 50 includes a frame 130. In this embodiment,frame 130 includes a square outer frame consisting of members 130 a, 130b, 130 c and 130 d, and a plurality of cross members 140, 150 and 160that are provided for structural support. The necessity and number ofcross members 140, 150 and 160 varies depending on the application.

The directional grate panel 50 includes a plurality of vanes 80, which,in this embodiment, are substantially parallel to frame members 130 a,130 c and 140. The vanes 80 may extend between one of frame members 130b and 130 d and support members 150, as shown in the figures, or vanes80 may extend all the way between frame members 130 b and 130 d. Vanes80 may form parallel rows. The number of vanes 80 may vary as desired,depending on the application.

Vanes 80 have a downstream end 170 and an upstream end 180 (see FIG. 8).“Downstream” and “upstream” are defined relative to the direction ofairflow through the directional grate panel 50. Vanes 80 have opposingfaces that extend between the downstream end 170 and the upstream end180.

Vanes 80 have holes (or openings) 85. See FIG. 7. While holes 85 areshown as a single row of spaced circular openings in FIG. 7, the holes85 can be of any shape and can be arranged in any pattern or randomly.The holes 85 do not have to have the same pattern or size in all thevanes 80. In fact, the holes in adjacent vanes 80 can be of differentsizes and patterns. In addition, some vanes 80 may have a differentnumber of holes 85 than other vanes 80. For example, one vane 80 mayhave only four holes 85, whereas another vane 80 may have five holes.

Also, not all of the vanes 80 must have holes 85. Rather, only selectedvanes 80, or sets of vanes 80, may have holes 85.

Further, the holes do not have to be “in” the vanes. Rather, the holesor openings can be partially formed by the vanes, as illustrated, forexample, in FIG. 10, which illustrates partial cross sectional views ofthe vanes of another embodiment of this invention. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 10, the openings 85 a are in the form of partialcutouts along one edge of the vane 80. In particular, FIG. 10illustrates an embodiment in which the openings are in the form ofsemi-circular cutouts formed in a vane. While the openings 85 a in FIG.10 are semi-circular in shape, the openings 85 a can be of any shape andspaced as desired along the vane 80. The shape of the openings 85 a canvary in a given vane 80, and the openings 85 a can be spaced equally, inany pattern or randomly in a given vane 80. FIG. 11 is a cross sectionalview of the vane illustrated in FIG. 10.

The holes 85 or openings 85 a in the vanes 80 have many functions. Forinstance, they reduce the weight of directional grate panel 50. Theyalso cause a more turbulent airflow as the air passes along thedirectional grate panel 50 to be directed through it, which reduces airvelocity, helps distribute air across the vanes evenly, and equalizespressure.

In the embodiment illustrated by FIGS. 1-8, frame members 130 a and 130c (see the side view of FIG. 3) are provided with through holes 90,which substantially line up with holes 85 in the end vanes 80.

When the directional grate panel 50 is installed in an access floorpanel array, the holes 85 and the through holes 90 are substantiallyaligned with a direction of the airflow 70.

In the embodiments illustrated in the Figures, the vanes 80 have anangled tip. In particular, an upper portion defining a vane tip 100 isangled with respect to the rest of the vane 80. The vane tip 100 is on adownstream end 170 of the vane 80 with respect to a direction of airflowthrough the directional grate panel 50. In other embodiments, the vanescan be flat, but angled with regard to the airflow direction, as shownin FIG. 12. The vanes can have any other shape, such as curved, thatdirects air as desired.

The angle of inclination a of the vane tip 100 of the vane 80 may rangebetween 20° and 35° with respect to the vertical axis. See FIGS. 8 and11. It has been found that tip angles in the range of 20° to 35° providebenefits over other angles because a tip angle range of 20° to 35°directs the optimal airflow to the IT racks, evenly distributing the airto the racks.

Some of the vane tips 100 of vanes 80 can have different angles ofinclination a than other vane tips 100. For example, some of the vanesmay have vane tips 100 having angles of inclination a of 20°, whileother vanes may have vane tips 100 having an angle of inclination a of35°. Vanes 80 having those differing vane tips may be arranged in sets,i.e., one set of the vanes 80 may have tips having an angle ofinclination α of 20°, while another set of the vanes 80 may have tipshaving an angle of inclination α of 35°. Alternatively, as a furtherexample, the sets of vanes may be arranged in an alternating fashionsuch that there is a vane having a vane tip at 20°, followed by a vanehaving a vane tip at 35°, followed by a vane having a vane tip at 20° orthe vane tips can alternate randomly, etc., or in any other pattern. Anexample of another pattern is that the vanes may be arranged with a vanehaving a tip at 20°, followed by two vanes having a tip ant 35°,followed by a vane having a tip at 20°, followed by a vane having a tipat 35°, etc. Further, all of the vanes 80 may have angled tip portions,or alternatively only some of the vanes 80 may have angled tips with theremaining vanes being vertically oriented or inclined.

As stated, FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a data center, data center 10,which includes at least one directional grate panel 50. Data center 10has one or more air conditioning units 30 that provide cool air via oneor more fans 40 to the plenum 110 between the sub-floor 115 and theaccess floor panel array 125. An airflow 70 is created by the fan 40through plenum 110 to the directional grate panel 50. The directionalgrate panel 50 is provided in the access floor array 125 adjacent to anIT rack 20. The directional grate panel 50 directs air toward a face 120of the IT rack 20. Warm air exhausted from the IT rack is then exhaustedback to the air conditioning unit 30.

The grate panels of this invention evenly distribute the air flowthrough them. Further, the grate panels of this invention direct ahigher percentage of the cooling air toward the adjacent IT racks 20.This results in less “wasted” air, i.e., air that is circulated throughthe data center without interacting with the IT racks 20. Because ahigher percentage of the cooling air is directed to the IT rack 20, lesstotal CFM of the cooling air has to be delivered to each directionalgrate panel 50.

What has been described and illustrated herein are preferred embodimentsof the invention along with some variations. The terms, descriptions andfigures used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and arenot meant as limitations. Those skilled in the art will recognize thatmany variations are possible within the spirit and scope of theinvention, which is intended to be defined by the following claims—andtheir equivalents—in which all terms are meant in their broadestreasonable sense unless otherwise indicated.

1. A grate access floor panel comprising; a support frame; and aplurality of spaced vanes supported by the support frame, each of theplurality of vanes having an upstream end and a downstream end withrespect to a direction of airflow across the plurality of vanes andopposing faces that extend between the upstream and downstream ends;wherein at least some of the vanes have openings that extend through theopposing faces thereof.
 2. The grate access floor panel according toclaim 1, wherein the plurality of opening are holes.
 3. The grate accessfloor panel according to claim 2, wherein the holes are circular.
 4. Thegrate access floor panel according to claim 1, wherein some of the vanesof the plurality of vanes have at least portions that are angled at anangle of inclination with respect to a vertical axis.
 5. The grateaccess floor panel according to claim 4, wherein the angle ofinclination is between 20° and 35°.
 6. The grate access floor panelaccording to claim 1, wherein a first group of the plurality of vaneshas at least a portion that is angled at a first angle of inclinationand a second group of the vanes has a portion that is angled at a secondangle of inclination; and wherein the first and second angles ofinclination are between 20° and 35° with respect to a vertical axis. 7.The grate access floor panel according to claim 1, wherein one group ofvanes of the plurality of vanes is vertically oriented and another groupof vanes of the plurality of vanes is at a 25°-35° angle of inclinationwith respect to a vertical axis.
 8. The grate access floor panelaccording to claim 1, wherein all of the plurality of vanes haveopenings that extend through the faces thereof.
 9. The grate accessfloor panel according to claim 8, wherein the openings are equallyspaced in each vane of the plurality of vanes.
 10. The grate accessfloor panel according to claim 8, wherein the openings are of equal sizein each vane of the plurality of vanes.
 11. The grate access floor panelaccording to claim 1, wherein the openings are formed as a plurality ofpartial cutouts along one edge of the plurality of vanes.
 12. The grateaccess floor panel according to claim 1, wherein a same pattern ofopenings is provided in some of the vanes of the plurality of vanes. 13.The grate access floor panel according to claim 1, wherein each of theplurality of vanes has a same pattern of openings.
 14. The grate accessfloor panel according to claim 1, wherein the support frame has at leastone peripheral member that has openings therethrough that align with theopenings in at least one of the plurality of vanes.
 15. A grate accessfloor panel comprising; a plurality of vanes provided within a frame,each of the plurality of vanes having an upstream portion and adownstream portion with respect to a direction of airflow across theplurality of vanes; wherein each vane of the plurality of vanes has aplurality of openings; and wherein the downstream portion of each vaneof the plurality of vanes is angled with respect to the upstream portionof each vane.
 16. The grate access floor panel according to claim 15,wherein the downstream end of each vane of the plurality of vanes isangled at an angle within a range between 20° and 35° with respect to anupstream end of each vane.
 17. The grate access floor panel according toclaim 15, wherein the openings are formed as a plurality of partialcutouts along one edge of the plurality of vanes.
 18. The grate accessfloor panel according to claim 15, wherein the openings are equallyspaced in each vane of the plurality of vanes.
 19. The grate accessfloor panel according to claim 15, wherein the openings are of equalsize in each vane of the plurality of vanes.
 20. The grate access floorpanel according to claim 15, wherein a same pattern of openings isprovided in each vane of the plurality of vanes.
 21. A grate accessfloor panel comprising: a support frame; and a plurality of spaced vaneshaving front and rear faces, wherein at least some of the plurality ofspaced vanes have openings through the faces thereof that permit airflowthrough the plurality of spaced vanes as well as between adjacent vanesof the plurality of spaced vanes.
 22. The grate access floor panelaccording to claim 21, wherein the airflow through the plurality ofspaced vanes results in more even distribution of air through the grateaccess floor panel.
 23. In a data center having a source of cooling airand at least one IT rack supported by an access floor system, theimprovement comprising: a grate access floor panel provided in theaccess floor system, the grate access floor panel having a plurality ofspaced apart vanes provided within a support frame, wherein theplurality of spaced apart vanes are provided at a predetermined angle ofinclination with respect to the support frame so as to direct air fromthe source of cooling air to a face of the at least one IT rack.
 24. Theimprovement for a data center according to claim 23, wherein thepredetermined angle of inclination of the plurality of spaced apartvanes is between 20° to 35° from a vertical axis.
 25. The improvementfor a data center according to claim 23, wherein the support frame ofthe grate access floor panel has at least one cross member.
 26. Theimprovement for a data center according to claim 23, wherein thepredetermined angle of inclination is identical for each vane of theplurality of spaced apart vanes.
 27. A grate access floor panel providedin an access floor system, the grate access floor panel comprising; asupport frame; and a plurality of spaced vanes supported by the supportframe, each of the plurality of vanes being provided at a predeterminedangle of inclination with respect to the support frame.
 28. The grateaccess floor panel according to claim 27, wherein the predeterminedangle of inclination of the plurality of spaced apart vanes is between20° to 35° from a vertical axis.
 29. The grate access floor panelaccording to claim 27, wherein the support frame has at least one crossmember.
 30. The grate access floor panel according to claim 27, whereinthe predetermined angle of inclination is identical for each vane of theplurality of spaced apart vanes.
 31. A data center comprising: an accessfloor system comprised of an array of access floor panels supportedabove a subfloor, such that a plenum is formed between the array ofaccess floor panels and the subfloor; and an IT rack supported by thearray of access floor panels; wherein the array of access floor panelsincludes at least one grate access floor panel that permits passage ofair through the array of access floor panels; and wherein the grateaccess floor panel has a plurality of spaced apart vanes that are at apredetermined angle with regard to the IT rack so as to direct air fromplenum to a face of the IT rack.